Bizarre Pagan Influences on the U.S. National Mall

ChurchPOP ^ | 2014 | ChurchPOP

[millegan]

Previously, we brought you “Where God is Carved in Stone on the National Mall.” Today, we’re looking at weird pagan influences on the National Mall in Washington D.C..

While the U.S. certainly has been greatly influenced by the Christian faith, it has also been influenced by certain strains of Enlightenment thought that are decidedly un-Christian. Remember that while the U.S. was in its infancy in the late 18th century, over in Europe during the French Revolution crowds took the Cathedral of Notre Dame and the replaced the altar with an altar to Liberty. This type of thinking was in the air.

A revival of ancient Greek mythology mixed with a desire to replace Christianity in the public sphere seems to have expressed itself in at least these three places in Washington D.C. Of course, this doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy these things today, but their origins are interesting nonetheless:

[Kozak]

Big deal. The period was heavily influenced by Classical culture, we were TRYING to model our new system after the Roman Republic and democratic Athens, even Sparta was tossed in.

[mason-dixon]

If you want to see a shrine to secularism, go into the Library of Congress.... the wall murals include a pantheon on “rathionalist” but no references to the source of truth, God.

[Westbrook]

> during the French Revolution crowds took the Cathedral of
> Notre Dame and the replaced the altar with an altar to
> Liberty.

First they slaughtered all the nuns and priests they could find.

Then part of the mob took a street whore and dressed her with a sash with the words, “La Dietee de Raison” (The Goddess of Reason). They then placed the whore, thus attired, on the altar in the church of Notre Dame and mock-worshipped her.

“Liberte’! Egalite’! Fraternite’!”

Sounds like large swathes of the demonRAT party to me.

[Apple Pan Dowdy]

Some wonder if it was rather the influence of the Masonic Order, who seem to profess in the higher levels that man can become gods.

[AnAmericanMother]

Bit of an overstatement.

It's just the classicising influence on art generally - the statue of Washington as Zeus was rejected almost instantly by everybody and stashed in a basement - not because it deified Washington but because it showed him essentially naked. The "Apotheosis of Washington" is a little bit over the top, but pretty much according to form - you can find all sorts of famous persons "apotheosized" in similar situations.

My personal favorite is the horrendous sentimental mish-mash of goofy (fake) Celtic mythology and French romantic tackiness in Girodet's "Apothéose des héros français morts pour la patrie pendant la guerre de la liberté" of 1805:

This is so outstandingly BAD that you don't really know where to start. The whole thing is based on McPherson's fraudulent "Ossian" poems, which took Europe by storm to the point that everybody was stuck pretending they were real. The blind bard Ossian is welcoming Napoleon's dead generals, Joubert and Hoche among them, into paradise. The Gallic rooster and Victory are chasing off the Austrian eagle . . . all sorts of other silly stuff going on.

[stormer]

I don’t think this author understand the meaning of the term “pagan”.

[Lee N. Field]

Anne-Louis_Girodet-Trioson_001.jpg

That is kind of, uhh, "busy", isn't it.

[Dr. Thorne]

Hey, at least they don’t have pagan icons like statues of Mary and “the saints” to worship.

[babble-on]

Next thing they’ll be telling us that Christmas itself is full of Pagan symbols. Sheesh!

[AnAmericanMother]

JUST a little. :-D

As Mark Twain said of the pamphlet "The English As She Is Spoke" - "One cannot open this book anywhere and not find richness." You could spend a week peering into the odd corners of this work. If you go to the source you can enlarge the heck out of it . . . there's a lot going on, all of it pretty silly. The French art of the time fundamentally lacked dignity. Delacroix did his best (and was a much better painter), but even he succumbed to the craze for didactic "busyness".

[Vendome]

Good bye Blog Pimp....

[Vendome]

IBTZ...

[Tennessee Nana]

the influence of the Masonic Order, who seem to profess in the higher levels that man can become gods.
__________________________________________

Hmmmmmmmmmm

Mormonism includes Freemasonry in their rituals and beliefs..

all the early Mormons were members of the Masonic Lodge..

In one day Joey Smith the founder of Mormonism went up to the highest level possible ...

that man becoming god thing is a big part of their tenets..

their jesus was just a man who became a god because he was a good mormon..

[AnAmericanMother]

LOL, right on cue.

Here, go worry about this one awhile and the rest of us will stay on topic:

- Il Grechetto, "The Immaculate Conception with Saints Francis and Anthony"

[cripplecreek]

Illuminati

[cripplecreek]

Threads like these are good for drawing the nutjobs out into the open.

[AnAmericanMother]

Only to the extent, I think, that the Masons had their origin in the same Enlightenment "rational" impulse -- which oddly enough invests in its art all the emotion that it tried to suck out of "conventional" religion (so does a refusal to acknowledge faith bounce back on you).

About as good a summary of the basis for Masonic fellowship anywhere is found in Kipling's remarkable stories about "Faith and Works Lodge 5837" - probably the only artist (other than Mozart) who could make the topic interesting. Here's the first one: In the Interests of the Brethren. The conversation between the Doctor and the Clergyman takes a brief turn (forestalled by the wise Sergeant-Major) that points up the whole problem.

[KC_Lion]

It's Like Not Using Forks because Christians (or us Jews) Didn't invent Forks.

YES Washington Moment Looks like an Egyptian Obelisk.

So What?

Because Quakers, Presbyterians, Episcopalian, Baptists and Catholics all disagree. The founders went with "The Basics" Like Classical Architecture and the 10 Commandments.

[CynicalBear]

Indeed he appears to be. Look at his history and he simply excepts the articles on his own site to generate hits then runs without discussion.